Every family’s home should tell their story, serve their lifestyle and create a space of cherished memories. That’s what we aimed to create for this family in West Pennant Hills! For this renovation, we turned a typical 1990’s style home into a contemporary, fresh home that feels welcoming right from the entrance through to every little detail. Here’s how we did it…
Background
The original home was a brick veneer two story home located in a quiet cul de sac in West Pennant Hills. The owners were looking to increase their living space and renovate downstairs to create a home much better suited to their lifestyle. They had a few features in mind, starting with a large open plan kitchen, butlers pantry, and a contemporary dining and living space. To create flow throughout their home, they wanted their dining and living space to open out onto a modern outdoor entertainment area. With the need for a productive home-office, the family wanted to modernise their existing study area. Finally, they wanted to continue the new contemporary feel of the home to the front of the house by changing the entry and stairs, in turn creating a grand entrance.
The Process
Working closely with interior designer, Inspired Interiors, we sought to provide the family with a cohesive, beautiful home where each room flows into the next. With the range of differing elements they wanted to include, our goal was to ensure that these all tie in together in a stylish, elegant and practical way.
So let’s jump into the construction!
For this project, some internal walls had to be removed in order to extend the rear of the house and allow more space for the kitchen/dining area. In turn, we extended the alfresco area, creating a perfect outdoor space for this family to enjoy. For the kitchen, we utilised a large open plan layout fit with a butlers pantry, perfect for entertaining. To allow for plenty of natural light flow, a skylight was installed in the butlers pantry which brightens up the room. To further expand the space, the pocket doors we added completely open onto the new alfresco, giving a spacious feel to the home and enhancing the sense of indoor-outdoor living. The indoor-outdoor style continued throughout the home, as beautiful spotted-gum floating floor was laid throughout, tying the open plan area together seamlessly from the front door right through to the back. The new fireplace featuring natural stone gives a beautiful focal point to the living room, and the timber beams in the ceiling give the space warmth and contrast.
Aside from the kitchen/living area, other enhancements made were new internal doors up stairs, reframing, and installing new wardrobe doors. We mentioned earlier that the family wanted to upgrade their study, so new cabinetry was installed to create a stylish, elegant and functional space. In the backyard, the addition of an outdoor kitchen area on the merbau deck makes the deck a functional part of the home, with beautiful wide timber steps leading down to the yard and the lower tiled alfresco area providing a beautiful contrast. The skylights bring natural light to the space, and outdoor blinds were added to provide shade on those hot summer afternoons! Hidden behind the alfresco area, a storeroom was created to enable the additional storage space that every home needs.
First impressions are everything, so at the front of the home we created a new tiled front verandah and grand front entry door. This really brightened up the entry of the home, and the new stairs tie in with the contemporary style of the renovation. Finally, removing the brick arches and centre column of the garage doors enabled us to install one larger door and modernises the façade beautifully.
The finished project
All in all, the final result is stunning and the family was overjoyed. Have a look through the photos below to see the completed home!
